About “Rivers,” “Rocks,” and “Rubies”
The Future of Work Is Grey: The Untapped Value of Age in the Workplace
by Dan Pontefract
Vancouver: Page Two Books, 2026
$36.95 / 9781774586440
Reviewed by Ron Verzuh
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If you’re past 50 and worried that all your accumulated workplace wisdom will get shuffled out the door when you are let go, author Dan Pontefract agrees with you. In fact, he argues that the world economy is in potential crash mode because we are deep in “age debt” or “the organizational failure to plan for and value age, resulting in capability loss and a weakened workforce.”
Pontefract fills his argument with far too much jargon, but he stresses an important point: by making older workers redundant we lose what he calls the “rubies” on the job. That is the old-timers who have the collective know-how that needs to be combined with the “rivers” and “rocks” i.e., the new hires and the mid-career workers.
He calls his book “an emergency siren” and in much of the first of two parts he has the siren turned on full blast. “An age of crisis is ahead,” he says, but we can rescue ourselves by investing in “an untapped reservoir of seasoned workers sidelined by outdated policies and biases.” The book opens with Pontefract’s own layoff in this early 50s.
“Imagine a workplace where age isn’t a limitation,” he suggests, “but a foundation for collective wisdom.” He envisages how “Ruby is polishing a Rock to eventually become another Ruby while helping Rivers along the way.”
Pontefract is right. Unfortunately, the bafflegab (career canvas, wisdom wheel, experience dividend) makes the book read like a management training manual or a self-help guidebook.
He is a music lover and uses numerous musical references to bolster his argument. Mention of old Beatles tunes and Simon and Garfunkel ballads got me back on track in the section called Side 1. (“Side” refers to the side of a record, and “track” is the name for chapters in Pontefract lingo.)
He is a music lover and uses numerous musical references to bolster his argument. Mention of old Beatles tunes and Simon and Garfunkel ballads got me back on track in the section called Side 1. (“Side” refers to the side of a record, and “track” is the name for chapters in Pontefract lingo.)
Throughout Track 1 he offers readers “Greyaways,” not takeaways. “It will make sense, trust me,” he quickly adds in introducing them. Pontefract is a passionate enthusiast for his cause, throwing us into crisis mode about “age debt.” Over-zealous? Maybe.
Pontefract’s ideas probably have merit in the corporate world. He worked for Telus before turning to writing. But his presentation can sound threatening. Do this or we all perish! But hold on a second.
As I turn to “Side 2,” i.e. the second part of the book, we meet “DJ Dan” and he has done a massive change-up. The book’s title is now The Future of Work is Gold. His Greyaways are now Gold Nuggets, and Dan has cranked up the volume. Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan, the Tragically Hip, even the Beastie Boys have joined the band of aging rubies.
I admire his effort to shift the focus away from age-driven layoffs and the resulting decrease in collective workplace memory. But is he asking too much of employers and team leaders here? How many of them are ready to “embrace your Age Debt vulnerability so you can turn it into an Experience Dividend,” using his “Career Canvas,” “Wisdom Wheel,” and “Longevity Lens” to make the conversion? It’s a lot to ask as companies and other organizations scramble to survive Trump’s ongoing tariff wars.
At the end of the book, Pontefract sounds like a social engineering huckster offering a list of his consulting services. “He listens, curates and tailors all sessions in any environment.” For a fee. He is “adaptable yet possesses deep expertise.”
If readers are as confused as I am by the many invented terms and concepts in his book, they may wish to consult their union. CUPE and Unifor for example, have some history of inviting new ideas from outside. Maybe they can help sort it all out.
They should also check out the Centre for the Future of Work. Founder and leading Canadian economist Jim Stanford offers a no-nonsense, straightforward look at the modern workplace and what it needs to adapt to changes in uncertain times.
*
Ron Verzuh is a writer, historian, and retiree. [Editor’s note: Ron wrote about Tom McGauley and has reviewed recent books by Roy Innes, Whit Fraser, Jim Harding [ed.], Steven Scanlan, Joline Martin, and Patricia E. Roy for The British Columbia Review.]
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The British Columbia Review
Interim Editors, 2023-26: Trevor Marc Hughes (non-fiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction)
Publisher: Richard Mackie
Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an on-line book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.
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